Mexico weekly ledger., 1887-02-10

liz
If the Acadians can anywhere be
seen in the prosperity of their primi-
tive simplicity, | fancy it is in the par
ish OF Vermilion, in the vicinity of
Abbcvillc and on the Bayou Tigre.
Here, among the intricate bayous that
are their highways and supply them
with the poorer sort of fish, and the
fair meadows on which their cattle pas
ture, and where they grow nearly
everything that simple habits require,
they have for over n century enjoyed a
quiet existence, practically undlsturb-
ell by the agitations of modern life,
ignorant of its progress. History
makes their departure from the COM
parativcly bleak meadows of Grand
Pre- a cruel hardship, if Il political ne
cessity. But they made a very FORUM
ate exchange. Nowhere else on the
continent could they so well have pre-
served their primitive habits, or found
climate and soil so suited to their
humor. Others have cyhaustivcly set
forth the history and idiosyncrasies OF
this peculiar people; it is in my way
only to tell what l saw on u spring
day.
To reach the heart of this abode of
contented and perhaps wise ignorance
we took boats early one morning at Pc
titc Anse Island, while the dew was
still heavy and the birds were at mat
ms, and rowed down the Petite Anse
Bayou. 4 stranger would surely be
lost in these winding, branching, inter-
Iacin~ streams. Eyanceline and her
lover might have passed each other I'M
known within hail across these marsh
cs. The party of Il dozen people occu-
pied two ~rOw-boats. Among them
were gentlemen who knew the route,
but the reserve Of wisdom as to what
bayouS and cut-Oiis were navi@able
was an ancient cX-slaye, now Il voter,
who responded to the lame Of "Hon-
orable'-a weather-beaten and wealth
er-wise darky, a redoubtable fisherman,
whose memory extended away beyond
the war, and played Familiarity about
the person of Lafayette, with whom he
had been on agreeable terms in Char
lesion, and who dated his narratives,
to our relief, not from the war, but
from the year Of some great sickness
on the coast. From the Petite Anse
we entered the Carlin Bayou, and
wound through it is needless to say
what others i'll our torttIous course. In
the fresh morning. with the salt air,
il was Il voyage of delight. Mullet
were jumping in the CLASSY stream,
perhaps disturbed by the gar-fish, and
alligators laziIy slid from the reedy
banks into the water ut our approach.
All the marsh was gay with flowers,
vast patches Of the blue fcHr-de-liS in
ternlingled with the exquisite white
spider-lily, noddiug in clusters on long
stalks; an amarylljs 0ancratium), its
pure half-disk fringed with delicate
white iilamcnts. The air was vocal
with the notes of birds, the nonpareil
and the m~cadow-lark, and most on
s%picuous Of all the handsome boat-tail
grackle, a blackbird, which alighted
on the slender dead reeds that swayed
with his weight as he poured forth his
song. Sometimes the bayou narrowed
sc that it was impossible to row with
the oars, and polling was rcsorted to,
and the current was swift and strong.
AT such passes we saw only the banks
with nodding flowers. and the reeds,
with the ~blackbirds singing against the
sky. Again we emerged into placid
reaches o%yerhung by gigantic liye-oaks
and fringed with cypress. 1t was en-
chanting, But the way was not quite
solitary, Numerous fishing parties
were encountered, boats on their way
to the bay, and now and then n party
OF stalwart men drawing a net in the
bayou, their clothes being deposited on
the banks. Occasionally a large
schooner was seen. tied to the bank or
slowly working its way, and on one a
whole1amiiy was domesticated. There
is II good deal of queer life hidden in
these bayous.
We presently entered the inhabited
part of the bayou, among cultivated
fields, and made our first call on the
Thibodeaux. They had been expect
ing us, and Andonia came down to the
landing to welcome us, and with a for
nal, pretty courtesy led the way to the
house. Does the reader happen to re-
member, say in New England. say fifty
years ago, the sweetest maiden lady in
AN 'iaAHf61F RtAil- SAttih IA Va hliItG-
ness, the proportions of the figure
never quite developed, with a row of
email corkscrew curls about her serene
forehead, and all the juices of life that
might have overlooked into the life of
Others somehow withcred into the
sweetness of her wistful faceP Yes; a
little timid and appealing, and yet
trustful, and in a scant, quaint gown?
Well, Andonia was never married, and
she had such curls, and q high-waisted
gown. and a kerchief folded across her
breast. And when she spoke, it was
in the language of France as it is rem
dered in Acadia.
The house, like all in this region,
stands upon blocks of wood, is in APP
pearance Il frame house. but the walls
between timbers are of concrete mixed
with moss, and the same inside rs out.
1t had no glass in the windo VS., which
were closed with solid shutters. Upon
the rough walls were hung sacred pic
lures and other crudely eolored prints.
The furniture was rude and apparently
homemade. and the whole interior
was as painfully neat as a Dutch par
Tor. Even the beams overhead and
ceiling had been scrubbed. Andonia
showed us with a blush of pride her
neat little sleeping-room, with its sou
yeuirs of affection, and perhaps some
OF the dried flowers of a possible ro-
nance, and the ladies admired the fine
~ weyen white Counterpart on the
bed Adonia's married sister was a
large, handsome woman, smiling and
prosperous. There were children and
think a baby about. besides Mr..
Ihibosieaax. Nothing could exceed
me kindly of these people.
Aiadonia showed us how they card.
wesye' and spin the cotton on, Of
1hich their blankets and the lean for
sneas clothing are made. They use the